SOMERS POINT — Somers Point resident Lisa Bender secured the Democratic nomination March 8 to run for Atlantic County Clerk.
The small-business owner and sustainability consultant said she is challenging Joseph Giralo in the election Nov. 3 because “we need courageous election officials across the country who will stand up for voting rights.”
“The Trump administration has made a concerted effort to attack voting rights,” Bender said, adding that President Donald Trump “wants to eliminate Vote by Mail, require two forms of identification to vote and unconstitutionally nationalize our elections.”
Bender, 50, is a community activist who ran for City Council in 2021 and 2022 and for state Assembly in 2023.
Bender earned a bachelor’s degree in geology from Vanderbilt University and a master’s degree in oceanography from University of South Florida.
She owns a marketing and photography business and is a licensed real estate agent.
After serving in Americorps, Bender, former chairwoman of the Somers Point Green Advisory Committee and member of the Environmental Commission, served as a Watershed Ambassador for the Great Egg Harbor River Watershed and worked as recycling coordinator for the Atlantic County Utilities Authority. She later oversaw a recycling campaign in Ocean City
Her passion for sustainability led her to community service activities. She frequently organizes community outreach projects as a leader in the Somers Point Democratic Club, led the Somers Point Environmental Commission for nine years and served as a Cub Scout leader with Scouting America. Bender and her husband, Bob, a former firefighter in Ocean City, have two sons.
“For years, Atlantic County has been an embarrassment when it comes to our election integrity,” Bender said. “From not certifying elections on time to egregious errors in the printing of mail-in ballots to forgetting provisional ballots on Election Day, the people of Atlantic County have been greatly inconvenienced. We have to get our act together, guarantee voting rights, and make sure we have free and fair elections in Atlantic County.”
She also is an award-winning artist who has displayed her work during the city’s annual Art in the Park event.
“I am excited that this will be the focus of all of my abilities in one job,” she said, noting that she is very detail-oriented, organized and enjoys helping people.
Bender also said she is familiar with all of the duties of the county clerk in her personal life, noting such things as filing election paperwork, business paperwork, issuing passports and communicating with elections officials.
“Running elections is tremendously important. We must ensure free and fair elections with no restrictions on access to voting,” she said.
Giralo announced Jan. 23 that he would be seeking a second term as clerk. He was first elected in 2021, beating Democrat Lisa Jiampetti, the mayor of Egg Harbor City, 55 percent to 45 percent.
“Our office isn’t blue and it isn’t red — we’re purple,” the Republican stated in his announcement. “We serve Democrats, Republicans and independents alike with the same commitment to fairness, accuracy and service. I’m a county clerk who works for the people, not for politics.”
He said his office has processed more than $120 million in real estate transfer fees, recorded more than 200,000 documents, processed more than 10,000 passports, overseen 15 elections and officiated at more than 700 weddings.
“Since entering public service at age 18, I’ve dedicated my life to serving others,” Giralo said. “I’m proud of the work we’ve done, and I look forward to sharing my story in every community across Atlantic County.”
Giralo spent six years as a Hammonton councilman and 15 years as a school board member before running for county clerk.
– By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
